Well the unfortunate happened. We were so close to making it to our one month travel mark on Sunday unscathed but we had some bad luck yesterday. Or rather, Trish had to bare the bad luck. On our last day in Costa Rica she had her wallet stolen out of her backpack. Now, before you all gasp or heave a heavy sigh know this: no credit cards were stolen...just some money and ID cards (diving, student, VIP backpacker). Fortunately her ATM card was in another pouch of her backpack so the culprits didn´t really get anything too useful. Unfortunately it meant an afternoon of waiting for the police, riding in a police car (with an empty beer bottle on the floor I might add) and waiting in the station for Trish to make the police report. Oh and not to mention running between two different justice buildings in a rainstorm in order to complete the police report. Trish is obviously feeling violated, frustrated, angry...and rightfully so.
We had such a nice week on the coast and in the mountains. We thought we´d return to San Jose, run a few errands and then just enjoy our final night together--all three of us. (Inez, we miss you already. =( ) However, even though it was the worst way to spend the end of the Costa Rican trip the police were helpful and the police report has been filed. Now Trish just needs to send it off to her travel insurance company and hope she is reimbursed for the lost items. At least no one was hurt and everything was done in a fairly timely manner.
Should you ever find yourself in a bind in the city of San Jose, Costa Rica the general staff in the main post office are extremely helpful. Just don´t try to mail any large parcels. The ladies that work at the counter enjoy torturing anyone who wants to send a piece of mail in any way possible. To further explain....Trish and I had gifts/souvenirs to send home so we thought we´d get rid of them in San Jose so we wouldn´t drag them around South America. We thought, ¨Hey, San Jose is a big city....the should have a reliable post office.¨ How very wrong we were. Does the San Jose post office sell boxes? Nope. We had to go down a few blocks to the closest supermercado and mime ¨give me an empty box¨ to the store clerks. Does the San Jose post office sell packing tape? Nope. Nor would they let us use their tape to seal our boxes so I wandered around the shops looking for a libreria...the only place to buy masking tape apparently. After sealing those boxes to our best ability we plopped them on the counter...paperwork done, addresses correct....2 months by sea mail to the US and Holland..okay, esta bien. They gave us the cost of the packages and I handed her US dollars (everyone takes US dollars in Costa Rica, even tiny shops). Nope....colones only. I had none. I asked hopefully, ¨¿Se cambia dinero aqui...?¨ No. Aargh. I tried to change my dollars at the closest bank but I had left my ID in the hostel so they wouldn´t help me. Luckily Inez came equipped with her ID so she was able to exchange the money and we finally were able to send off our packages. I´m convinced the postal workers stomped on them as soon as we walked out the door.
But like I mentioned, the rest of the trip went very well. We had a few great days in Santa Elena exploring some of the rainforest and riding horses in a torrential downpour. We enjoyed many tasty meals and I will greatly miss the seafood. Mmmm ceviche. Yet now it seems appropriate that our time has come to an end in Costa Rica after Trish´s misfortune yesterday.
So far Quito has been spectacular. We had no problems finding a hostel-restaurant run by an Ecuadorian family and we´ve already set up our Spanish class for the week. Instruction begins on Sunday (4 hours a day)and ends Thursday. We planned it this way so we can brush up on our Spanish and then make the most of our week to see a few spots outside Qutio before beginning our Galapagos trip next Friday. Besides, I need to stay in one location for the next week in order to receive mail.
A note to those of you that I have not told: I have been selected as an ALTERNATE for the JET program. That means I´m continuing the application process as if I were selected but officially I have not been selected and may not know if I´m going to Japan through the JET program until October. Yep, that would make this the longest job application ever. I think 13 months qualifies for that, right? So I´m sticking around Quito so I can receive the JET package at the US Consulate and fill out the paperwork to return it on time for the April 27th deadline. Luckily the US Consulate has a notary, fingerprint and passport photo service. I need all of these services to complete the forms and return them on time to the San Francisco office.
But anyway....I can´t completely obsess about my potential Japanese job. Trish is looking on the bright side so I can´t help but hope that Ecuador will be a far more peaceful experience than Costa Rica. I´m still here on this trip and trying to enjoy every minute. We´re off to check out salsa/merengue lessons near our hostel and plan to see a few museums tomorrow. I can´t wait to see Guayasmin´s collection!!
